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Although sights and sounds are experienced starting with changes in receptor surfaces (retina, eardrum), they do not have the same embodied component as in touch. This is likely because of the seemingly veridical relationship between the location of our receptor surface (skin) and the perceived location of sensation; one that makes it difficult to conceive that our body percepts are strictly a product of neural processes. However, the relationship between neural processes and body representations is clearly evident in individuals with impairments after amputation (phantom limbs), chronic pain, or brain damage. Research in the Medina lab is committed to understanding how we represent the body, how we integrate body representations with spatial, attentional, and motor systems, and how we represent the location of stimuli in our environment.

The research uses behavioral testing with brain damaged and neurologically intact individuals, along with non-invasive brain stimulation techniques.